‘Pay Dirt: ‘The Westland Goldfields’, from the diary of William Smart’ is the fascinating story of how payable gold was discovered in West Canterbury, and of claims to the government’s rich gold reward. It tells how English settler, William Smart, left Christchurch in 1862 to prospect for gold in the uncharted wilderness of the West Coast. Then, in 1887, long after the Canterbury government granted another prospector the reward, which Smart regarded as rightfully his, he was provoked to write his own ‘history’ of the early gold discoveries. ‘The Westland Goldfields’ was his attempt to set the record straight; but, incidentally, he produced a unique eye-witness account of early Pakeha on the Coast, prospecting alongside Maori, braving the hazardous environment, isolation and ever-present risk of starvation – before the region was overwhelmed by the gold rushes of the 1860s. Smart’s account, together with his drawings, is published here for the first time. Hilary Low has done a superb job of presenting Smart’s manuscript, and complementing it with a lively commentary on Canterbury’s quest for its own goldfield, and the extraordinary saga of its gold reward – a tale of hope and persistence, lies and fraud.

From Montana award-winning author Jill Trevelyan comes the first biography of Peter McLeavey, the charismatic, pioneering art dealer who since the 1960s has shaped - even transformed - New Zealand art. McLeavey's personal story is remarkable, but his contemporaries will recognise common themes: the religious upbringing, the struggle to be bohemian in repressive mid-century small town New Zealand, the challenges of marriage and fatherhood, the dilemma of whether to stay or leave New Zealand, and the need to make a mark. Through exclusive access to McLeavey's extensive and hitherto untapped archive of letters, diaries, exhibition files and more, this book offers insights into the artists McLeavey has represented across half a century. Here, in their own words - lively, salty, and often heart-breaking - are Colin McCahon, Toss Woollaston, Len Lye, Milan Mrkusich, Michael Smither, Gordon Walters, Michael Illingworth, Don Driver, Robin White, John Reynolds, Yvonne Todd and many more.Far more than a simple biography, this is the big story of contemporary New Zealand art itself, in a period of massive change and growth, and Trevelyan offers an utterly fresh and compelling historical account of the birth of the modern art market and the status of art today. A must-read for anyone interested in New Zealand's art, culture or recent history.

For novelist Stephanie Johnson, her relationship with Australia and Australians has been an ambivalent one. She has lived there for periods in her life, and her first book, a collection of short stories, was actually published in Australia. She was described then as a young Australian writer, something she says she agreed to 'for reasons that are complex and some of them hardly honourable'.For Johnson the longing to return has waxed and waned. 'Why don't I live there?' she often asks herself. Yet she is a sixth-generation New Zealander.In this BWB Text Johnson explores her elusive and ambivalent feelings about the sunburnt country - which includes a musician's road trip there with her singer-songwriter son Skyscraper Stan - and in so doing casts fascinating light on some of the formative influences that have shaped the work of this awardwinning New Zealand writer.

James Prendergast is the most infamous figure in New Zealand's legal history, known mainly for his condemnation of the Treaty of Waitangi as "a simple nullity" in 1887. But during his lifetime Prendergast was a highly respected lawyer and judge. He was arguably New Zealand's dominant legal professional from 1865 to 1899, and his good reputation remained intact until the 1980s, when the Treaty of Waitangi finally returned to the centre of New Zealand political life. The more the Treaty has been celebrated, the more Prendergast has been condemned. Who was this legal villain? Was he really a villain at all? This comprehensive biography charts Prendergast's life from his upbringing in the heart of London's legal world through to his long and eventful reign as New Zealand's third Chief Justice. On the way it details his ill-fated adventures in colonial Victoria and his rise to prominence in gold-rush Dunedin. It also analyses Prendergast's pivotal role as Attorney-General during the New Zealand Wars and his controversial part in authorising the invasion of Parihaka. Prendergast explores the man, the lawyer, and the judge.It provides fascinating insights into different parts of the nineteenth-century British Empire and, in particular, colonial Wellington, featuring bitter feuds, ground-breaking judgments, and personal tragedy. This book finally provides the full story behind the name that every New Zealand law student knows.

A memoir of a German boy growing up in Shanghai during World War II. It is a story of danger and loss, love and courage and how life can change quickly from one of privilege to one of a desperate fight for survival.

Reform has been a recurring theme throughout Geoffrey Palmer's life, not only during his career in politics as an MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Prime Minister but also as a law professor and law practitioner. In this memoir, Geoffrey Palmer recounts the events and forces that shaped him as well as his many adventures in reforming a wide range of institutions, laws and policies. He speaks of his early life and family background in Nelson and the eventful lives of his pioneering ancestors. He examines the intellectual influences on his thinking, particularly the nature of his education both in New Zealand and the United States. Geoffrey Palmer chronicles his life according to the issues: accident compensation, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Law Commission, liquor law, Maori issues, parliamentary reform, the Resource Management Act, law and order, prisons, and local government reform are all discussed in-depth. International issues also come within the compass of the book, with extensive treatment of New Zealand's anti-nuclear policy, the 'Rainbow Warrior' affair, the Gaza Flotilla incident and Palmer's diplomatic efforts to reform the International Whaling Commission.Meticulously detailed, engagingly written, and covering a wide variety of topics, Reform is essential reading for anyone interested in New Zealand legal and political history.

Eight years, the drought lasted. Marlborough's hills bleached straw-yellow then became ash, so bare the earth's bones poked through, dusty and crumbling. Day after day, the sky was a relentless, empty blue. Sometimes we could see clouds, grey and fat with the promise of rain, passing by on the northwest horizon, but they never looked our way. And so begins Doug Avery's story of emotional resilience in the face of what at times seemed a hopeless situation. The South Island farmer suffered terribly during eight years of drought. His farm was depleted and so was he. Although he didn't realise it at the time, Doug had severe depression. His story, he says, is common to many in farming who soldier on in isolation, slipping further and further into debt and desperation. The Resilient Farmer is Doug's powerful story of getting life back on track - for him, his family and livelihood. It's also an incredible tale of Kiwi can-do and how one man overcame heartbreaking adversity to live a fruitful life and help others.

Resilient Grieving is a practical, research-based guide to finding your own path to recovery from devastating loss.

'A recommended new book for those who are grieving . . . [Hone's] metaphor for life after loss is both powerful and apt: Think of it as a scattered jigsaw puzzle, where the pieces of one's former life have been scattered and now must be reconfigured in a new way.'-The Wall Street Journal

Dr Lucy Hone works in the field of resilience psychology, helping ordinary people exposed to real-life traumatic situations. When faced with the incomprehensible fact of her daughter's tragic death Lucy knew that she was fighting for the survival of her sanity and her family unit.

She used her practice to develop ways to support her family in their darkest days, and to find a new way of living without Abi.

In Resilient Grieving Lucy shares her research so that others can work to regain some sense of control and take action in the face of helpless situations.

Each year thousands of Australia's legendary Brumbies are aerially culled or captured and sold for slaughter to manage the world's largest population of wild horses. When the Wilson Sisters hear of government plans to cull 90 percent of the Snowy Mountain Brumbies, they eagerly sign up for the Australian Brumby Challenge to learn more about these iconic horses' desperate plight.Assigned ponies so small that even the slaughterhouses have rejected them, Vicki, Kelly and Amanda realise their Brumbies' future lies with much younger riders. Will these Brumbies embrace the many changes ahead of them, and can the sisters find children they trust to ride recently wild ponies? The sequel to the best-selling books For the Love of Horses, Stallion Challenges and Mustang Ride.

Twelve extraordinary tales of crime and punishment: a collection of true crime writing by New Zealand's award-winning master of non-fiction. A court is a chamber of questions. Who, when, why, what happened and exactly how - these are issues of psychology and the soul, they're general to the human condition, with its infinite capacity to cause pain. A brutal murder of a wife and daughter ...A meth-fuelled Samurai sword attack ...A banker tangled in a hit-and-run scandal ...A top cop accused of rape ...A murder in the Outback ...A beloved entertainer's fall from grace ...In the hands of award-winning journalist and author Steve Braunias these and other extraordinary cases become more than just courtroom dramas and sensational headlines. They become a window onto another world - the one where things go badly wrong, where once invisible lives become horrifyingly visible, where the strangeness just beneath the surface is revealed. Acutely observed, brilliantly written, and with the Mark Lundy case as its riveting centrepiece, this collection from the courts and criminal files of the recent past depicts a place we rarely enter, but which exists all around us.

Allen Curnow (1911-2001) is widely recognised as one of the most distinguished poets writing in English in the second half of the twentieth century. From Valley of Decision (1933) to The Bells of Saint Babel's (2001) he defined and redefined how poetry might discover the possibilities of a world seen afresh. Through relationships with writers from Dylan Thomas to C. K. Stead he influenced the changing shape of modern poetry. And in criticism and anthologies like the Penguin Book of New Zealand Verse he helped identify the distinctive imaginative preoccupations that made New Zealand's writing and culture different from elsewhere. By the time of his death at the age of ninety, he had completed a body of work unique in this country and increasingly recognised internationally. This major biography introduces readers to Allen Curnow's life and work: from a childhood in a Christchurch vicarage, through theological training, journalism and university life, marriages and children, and on to an international career as a writer of poetry, plays, satire and criticism. The book lucidly identifies the shifting textures of Curnow's writing and unravels the intersections between life and words. The result of over a decade's research and writing, Simply by Sailing in a New Direction offers deep insight into the development of New Zealand literature and culture.